DETROIT >> You knew that not everyone deserving was going to get on the American League All-Star team, not even from a team like the Detroit Tigers that’s won three straight division titles.

When it was unveiled before Sunday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the Tigers had three representatives: Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Max Scherzer.

Cabrera was the only Tigers player selected to start the game.

Advertisement

As anticipated, there were snubs, including Rick Porcello, who ranks among the MLB leaders in wins, as well as Ian Kinsler.

Porcello, at least, still has a shot to earn his way on, as one of the five American League players in the Final Vote.

“I think Miggy, Victor, Kinsler, Scherzer, Porcello are all deserving of an All-Star bid. I think at any All-Star Game and any manager who’s in charge of selecting All-Stars, you’d be hard-pressed to get five players from one team. But I think they’re all deserving,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. “It’s just hard to do. A lot of it isn’t controllable anymore. The fans get to vote the starters, the players get to vote the reserves and the managers pick the last few spots. There’s not really a lot of gray area. For a team to get six players is kind of rare but it might just be a case where the fans and the players voted them in. I don’t think it’s necessarily an oversight. I’m sure most of the teams could say that someone on their roster should be an All-Star but isn’t. We got three out of the five that should be, possibly the fourth. I’m hopeful that Kins gets on somehow.”

Cabrera was named an All-Star for the ninth time, and the fifth straight year as a member of the Tigers.

“And he’s what, 31? Unbelievable,” Scherzer said. “He’s playing a video game every time he steps into the box and he has all the cheat codes.”

Cabrera had never before been voted in as the starter at first base, going in 2010 and 2011 as a reserve. In fact, last season’s starting nod was the first time he’d been voted to start by the fans — the only other start he got was in 2010, as a replacement for the injured Justin Morneau.

What does it mean to him?

“It’s very special. I appreciate the fans’ support. We want to go there, and get home field advantage for the World Series,” he said later.

Martinez has been to four All-Star Games, but this is his first since joining the Tigers. He was part of the final vote in 2011, but lost to Chicago’s Paul Konerko.

“It’s so impressive. We knew he was this good of a hitter, a .330 hitter, you can mark that,” Scherzer said. “It’s nice to so him start hitting bombs, start rivaling Miggy. We’ve been jabbing at Miggy, saying fun stuff we all say, nothing that can be repeated on air, it’s more clubhouse stuff, four-letter words.”

Scherzer made the All-Star team last year for the first time, and was named the starter for the AL by then-Tigers manager Jim Leyland. He went on to win the Cy Young.

“Every individual accomplishment and award, they each mean their own thing. It was great last year to be able to go to the all-star game and start it. To be able to do it again is an honor in its own right, to be able to go to back to back all-star games. You just enjoy every moment of it. Opportunities like this don’t come around too often,” said Scherzer, who knew he was on the bubble with Porcello.

“We were both on the fringe if we were going to make it or not. We were both crossing our fingers. Hopefully our fans show up. We need our fans to show up and vote for Rick to get in the all-star game. We got to find a way to get Kinsler there, too. He’s having too good a year for him (not) to represent our team. He’s absolutely getting after it.”

Kinsler made three appearances in the All-Star game with the Rangers but — despite ranking second in the fan voting at second base as of the last update — will not go for the first time since joining the Tigers. Seattle’s Robinson Cano won the fan voting, and will start at second base, while Houston’s Jose Altuve was selected as the reserve at second base.

Porcello came into Sunday night’s start second in Major League Baseball in wins with 11.

But he’s never really been in contention to make an All-Star squad, so his teammates — and his manager — were pulling for him.

“Yes, absolutely. I hope he goes out there — not that this game has an effect on whether he’s an All-Star or not, but I hope he goes out there and does well again. Not only because I’d like the Tigers to win but because I’d like to see Rick Porcello get a little bit more positive attention on a national scale,” Ausmus said before the game (he did not). “If something happens where he’s not on the All-Star team but someone goes down, they say, ‘Hey, Porcello, did you see him pitch Sunday night on ESPN?’ I hope that happens.”

For the rest of the team, the All-Star break will be just that — a break from the mental rigors of the grind that is the MLB season.

For some, like Justin Verlander, who had his six-year streak of All-Star apperances snapped, it’s a welcome break.

“Not just for Justin but for guys that don’t make the team — don’t get me wrong, all the guys would rather be on the team — but the All-Star break is really the one vacation you get all season,” Ausmus said. “You get a day off here or a day off there, a lot of times it’s a travel day. You don’t have a lot of time to plan anything or go anywhere. The All-Star break is really the one time where players can shut their brain off from baseball for a few days and really decompress. I think it’s important for everyone.”

Ausmus himself went to just one All-Star Game, in 1999 as the Tigers’ sole representative that year.

“I usually went on vacation. I usually didn’t go to the All-Star Game,” he joked. “I went to just north of Traverse City when I played here one year, stayed at a place on the lake. Now I have a place on Cape Cod, I go there.”

About the Author

Detroit Tigers beat writer for The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan. Mowery has spent 18 years covering sports, from preps to pros. He’s been honored with more than 25 awards for writing. Reach the author at matt.mowery@oakpress.com
or follow Matthew B. on Twitter: @MatthewBMowery.